Al-Aruri's release from prison, in March
Photo: AFP
Israel seizes top Hamas leader in West Bank
IDF troops arrest founder of Qassam brigades near Ramallah. Move considered 'dual conspiracy' between Israel and PA, Hamas spokesman says
Israeli troops arrested Saleh al-Aruri, the founder of the Hamas military
wing in the West Bank, as part of a widening crackdown on the Islamic militants following Hamas' bloody takeover of Gaza.
Al-Aruri was taken from his West Bank home before dawn Saturday, his wife said.
Hamas denounced Aruri's arrest as proof of collusion between Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's forces to crush Hamas in the West Bank.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the move was proof of a "dual conspiracy" against Hamas Islamists in the West Bank, one led by Israel and the other by Abbas's security forces.
Israel released Aruri from custody in March 2007 after he spent 15 years in an Israeli prison for founding the Qassam Brigades.
An Israeli security source said said Aruri was arrested again on Saturday after he "continued to openly operate as part of the Hamas terror organization".
